At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason. (A website by Trevor Grant Thomas designed to inform the world from a Christian conservative worldview, and to make new and better disciples of Jesus Christ.)
The ultimate question for us all: What shall I do with Jesus? (Matt. 27:22)

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Want to be a Slave to Debt? Vote for Big Government

My wife Michelle and I are financial disciples of the late
Larry Burkett. As I have noted in columns before (and as our newly published book details),
due in great measure to Mr. Burkett’s ministry, on a teacher’s salary, we have
lived the last 14 years of our lives completely debt free including building a
home without borrowing a dime.

As I was first learning the biblical principles of finance,
I encountered many Bible verses that deal with money and wealth (there are
hundreds). One of the verses that most impacted me was Proverbs 22:7. It reads,
“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender (NIV84).”
If you have ever had trouble with debt and creditors, you understand well what
this verse is communicating. To be a slave to debt is a sad reality for far too
many Americans today.

The debt of our federal government is well known. Many state
and local governments have not fared much better—some even worse. We are in
such a position for a myriad of reasons, but I believe that when it comes to
debt (as is the case with most issues) our government is simply a refection of
our culture. We have governments addicted to debt because far too many families
and individuals in the U.S.
are addicted to debt.

When governments are swimming in debt, especially when it
gets to the point of bankruptcy, the consequences are far reaching. There is no
better example than the city of Detroit.
With liabilities totaling about $18 billion, Detroit’s Chapter 9 filing in the summer of
this year was easily the nation’s largest municipal bankruptcy.

With public services slashed, a fire-sale of city assets,
and cuts to benefits for Detroit employees, Detroit’s citizens are in
the midst of a whirlwind of financial chaos and uncertainty. True to the
warning issued in Proverbs 22:7, a very
recentL.A. Times column noted
that the misery in Detroit
had some citizens describing their situation as enslavement.

Of course, when dealing with something described as “enslavement,”
as is typical of a liberal publication such as the L.A. Times and with the liberal mindset of the vast majority of Detroit’s citizens,
“racism” is the frequent cry when lamenting the sad reaping the Motor-City is
now enduring.

Detroit’s
bankruptcy is being overseen by a state-appointed emergency manager. Some
citizens are in court attempting to halt the bankruptcy. One of the more
contentious issues is the law that empowers the emergency manager. Testifying
in court, longtime Detroit
resident Bill Hickey declared that he found the emergency manager law “to be
racist in its aims and in its application.”

To further push the racism narrative, The Times found several individuals willing to use the “slavery”
analogy: “‘We still remember—we haven't forgotten—that we are only a few
footsteps away from slavery,’ said Monica Lewis-Patrick, a community activist
who works at Hush House, a shelter in one of Detroit's most embattled
neighborhoods.” Also testifying in court, Sheilah Johnson tearfully wondered, “When
my 9-year-old grandson asks me, ‘Grandma, are they trying to make us slaves
again?’ how do I answer that child?” Johnson added, “We do not need a slave
owner, and I am not a slave.”

The Times piece ends
with Hickey concluding, “But racism is still a huge issue. It's a hard
conversation to have, but it's an important one, and we need to have it.”

Yes, there is a conversation to be had, and yes, we are
dealing with a form of enslavement. However, racism has virtually nothing to do
with it.

The most common themes with municipalities facing dire debt
consequences are billions in unfunded pension and healthcare liabilities. Also,
according
to Stephen Moore, senior economics writer for The Wall Street Journal, of the U.S. cities in the most trouble
financially, “the vast majority are located in states with forced unions,
non-right-to-work states.”

Moore
points out that, “Unions control state legislatures
and city halls in non-right-to-work states, so it can become politically
paralyzing to try to fix the problem of runaway labor costs.” And of course,
the most significant common trait of U.S. cities with heavy debt burdens
is that for decades now their governments have been dominated by liberals.

As Moore explains, “For at least the last 20 years major U.S. cities
have been playgrounds for left-wing experiments—high taxes on the rich;
sanctuaries for illegal immigrants; super-minimum wage rules; strict
gun-control laws (that actually contribute to high crime rates); regulations
and paperwork that make it onerous to open a business or develop on your own
property; crony capitalism with contracts going to political donors and
friends; and failing schools ruled by teacher unions, with little competition
or productivity.”

Over 80% of Detroit’s
citizens are black. Anyone with an attention span greater than that of a Miley
Cyrus fan knows the overwhelming rate at which U.S. blacks vote for liberals. As
more and more state and local governments draw ever closer to their day of
reckoning with their debt masters, just as in Detroit, they too will learn the hard lessons
of Proverbs 22:7. And any U.S. citizen, whatever the skin color, who doesn’t
want to find himself feeling like a slave needs to get off the Big Government
plantation.

No comments:

Post a Comment

In God

Like Trevor's Website!

Follow Trevor on Twitter

IF YOU ENJOY THIS SITE, PLEASE CONSIDER PURCHASING MY BOOK.

The Miracle and Magnificence of America reveals how, from the time of Columbus until the modern era, the Hand, the Word, the Wisdom, and the Blessings of God worked in the lives of individuals, events, and institutions to shape the United States of America into the greatest nation the world has ever known.

If you enjoy this site, please consider purchasing our book. It is a great gift for young couples!

In Debt-Free Living in a Debt-Filled World, Trevor and Michelle will tell you candidly how they paid off their debt, built their home without a mortgage, and have lived debt free since 1999, raising four children on a teacher's salary.

My Beautiful Family!

About Me

I was born in 1969 to Edsel and Carolyn Thomas and have lived all my life in Northeast Georgia. I've been a follower of Jesus since 1986. I am originally from White County, where I graduated from high school and lived for the first twenty-plus years of my life. (Most of my family and my wife’s family live in White County.) Michelle and I married on January 31, 1998. We have 4 beautiful children (three boys and one girl): Caleb, born 2002; Jesse, born 2004; Caroline born 2006; and Noah born in 2008. We currently reside in the North Hall area. I have a BS degree in physics from the University of North Georgia, an MEd in mathematics education from the University of North Georgia, and an EdS in mathematics education from the University of Georgia. I've been teaching high school mathematics (public and private) since 1993. In 2013 my wife and I published Debt-Free Living in a Debt-Filled World. In 2016 I published The Miracle and Magnificence of America. I have been writing opinion columns since 2001. I have been blogging (though not with my own blog) since 2007. My hobbies include anything that allows me to spend time with my family, and includes action movies, swimming, hunting, fishing, gardening, and maintaining my lawn. I also enjoy most sports that involve a ball, and try (somewhat) hard to not cuss while watching the Georgia Bulldogs, the Atlanta Falcons, Braves, and Hawks, and the Dallas Cowboys.